[ Please Cc: me on replies ]
> So, why should the autoconf have this cross-compiling mode, when what
> is in fact needed is a way to let it still work despite the inability
> to execute built test programs?
Many tests done by Autoconf-created configure scripts do not need to
execute the created binary. For example, Autoconf 2.50+ may find out
the size of a C type without execution (but it's quite slow, so it's
done differently in the non-cross-compile case). For other tests, it
allows the developer to provide a pessimistic default, or let the user
predefine the result by means of a config.site file.
Cheers,
Ralf